What does it take to be approved for a deal on Percent? This week, I chat with Bina Shetty, who leads our originations team and brings decades of investment banking experience to the table. We cover how we underwrite non-bank lenders, why Latin America is a breakout region for private credit, and why the best founders keep things simple and scrappy. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how our marketplace works—and what we look for in every borrower.

The traditional startup playbook—raise big, spend fast, swing for the fences—is fading. In this episode, I unpack why the VC model is under pressure, how AI is fueling a new era of smaller, faster, more profitable startups, and why debt might beat equity for founders who want to scale on their own terms. If you’re still raising like it’s 2013, this one’s for you.

This week, I sat down with Sean Smith, co-founder of SMB Investor Network, to talk about a very different slice of the private markets—entrepreneurship through acquisition. We cover everything from his leveraged finance days at CIBC to why he's now focused on buying HVAC companies and plumbing businesses. Plus, we discuss how private credit and SMB equity are surprisingly complementary when it comes to building a resilient, income-generating portfolio.